Ohio State Lacrosse This WeekThe No. 3-ranked Ohio State men's lacrosse team (12-3, 5-2/3rd ECAC) opens the 2013 NCAA Championship with a first round game vs. No. 17-ranked Towson (10-7, 4-2 CAA) at 3 p.m. Sunday in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and hosting a tourney game for the first time in program history.

The winner of the Ohio State vs. Towson game will take on the winner of a matchup between No. 6 seed Maryland (10-3) and Cornell (12-3) at 12:30 or 3 p.m. May 18 at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium in College Park, Md. The NCAA Championship semifinals and final will be at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa., May 25 and 27.

Follow AlongThe game between Ohio State and Towson will be televised by ESPNU and available on WatchESPN.com. Ben Holden will handle the play-by-play, with Matt Ward serving as the analyst.

Links for live stats can be found on the men's lacrosse schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com and on the Buckeye Lacrosse Gameday page (go.osu.edu/mlaxgameday). Updates also will be available on the men's lacrosse Twitter feed: @OhioState_MLAX.

How to GoTickets are now on sale for the NCAA game in Ohio Stadium. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth/students, with children 6 and under free. For more information, and a link to purchase, visit: http://go.osu.edu/osutowncaatix. Tickets may also be purchased the day of the game. Gates open at 1:30 p.m., with all seating general admission. Tickets will be sold near Gate 14 on the east side of Ohio Stadium and fans will enter through Gate 16, also on the east side. Seating will be in sections 16A-30A. Parking is available in the east, west and northwest stadium lots.

Buckeye Bio Ohio State is on a six-game winning streak and coming off wins over Loyola (18-11) and Denver (11-10) to claim the first ECAC championship in program history. The team is 12-3 overall, the most wins for the program since the 2004 team posted 12. The squad averages 11.20 goals a game and allows 8.53 an outing, ranking 18th and 12th in the NCAA, respectively. The team is second nationally in man-up offense, converting 21 of 42 (.500) chances. The Buckeyes are third nationally in turnovers per game (12.20), eighth in shooting percentage (.327) and 10th in faceoff winning percentage (.563).

Senior Logan Schuss has a team-best 40 goals, 23 assists and 63 points. Sophomore Jesse King is second with 26 goals, 21 assists and 47 points. Freshman Carter Brown and sophomore Turner Evans are tied for third with 24 goals each, with Brown third with 38 points and fourth with 14 assists. Evans is fourth with 31 points overall and senior Dominique Alexander is third with 15 assists. In goal, junior Greg Dutton has started 13 games and has an 8.61 goals-against average and .541 save percentage. Senior Trey Wilkes has won 151-of-266 faceoffs (.568) and is first on the squad with 61 groundballs, followed by juniors Michael Italiano (40), Darius Bowling (38) and Dutton (35). Junior Joe Meurer leads the squad with 15 caused turnovers and Bowling is second with 12.

In the NCAA TournamentOhio State is hosting an NCAA tournament game for the first time in program history. The team is making its fourth NCAA tournament appearance and its first as a seeded team. The squad is 1-3 in the NCAA tournament all-time, with a win at Cornell in the first round in 2008, a quarterfinal loss to top seeded Duke at Cornell in 2008 and first-round losses at Maryland in 2003 and North Carolina in 2004.

Ohio State vs. Towson Ohio State leads the all-time series with Towson, 3-2. The last meeting was in 2007 and the previous meetings were all prior to 1967, with all five games in Maryland. The last matchup was March 20, 2007, a 10-8 win by the Tigers in Towson, Md. The Buckeyes lost the first meeting, 6-3, March 24, 1962. Ohio State then won the next three games, with an 8-7 overtime win March 23, 1963, a 13-3 victory March 27, 1965, and an 8-6 win March 25, 1966.

Tiger TalkTowson earned the CAA's automatic berth into the NCAA championship, upsetting No. 9-ranked Penn State, 11-10, on its home field last Saturday. The Tigers are 10-7 on the year and were 4-2 in league play. The squad is averaging 9.06 goals a game and allowing 8.88 a contest. This is the Tigers' first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2007.

Thomas DeNapoli leads the Tigers wtih 41 goals, 18 assists and 49 points. Andrew Hodgson is second with 24 goals and 38 points and third with 14 assists. Greg Cuccinello is third with 22 goals and 27 points and Justin Mabus is second on the squad with 15 assists and fourth with 23 points. Goalie Andrew Wescavage is fourth in the NCAA with a .608 save percentage and has an 8.93 goals-against average while making 13.71 saves a game.

Anthony Gilardi, a four-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes from 2001-04 who played on the squad’s first two NCAA tournament teams and was on staff when the Buckeyes went to the NCAA tournament in 2008, is an assistant coach for the Tigers. A two-time All-GWLL choice, he is tied for 14th in Ohio State history with 133 points, with 75 goals and 58 assists.

Champions! Ohio State Wins ECAC Tourney with 11-10 Win over DenverOhio State won the 2013 ECAC Championship, defeating top seed and No. 4-ranked Denver, 11-10, Saturday at Boswell Field in Geneva, N.Y. In the championship game, Ohio State led 4-2 after the first quarter and extended the lead to 6-3 in the second quarter before the Pioneers closed the first half on a three-goal run to send the teams into halftime tied at 6. The teams were tied three times in the third quarter, with Ohio State leading twice (7-6, 9-8) and Denver leading at 8-7. Entering the fourth quarter, the squads were tied at 9 after a DU goal with 1:45 remaining in the third stanza. In the fourth quarter, Buckeye senior co-captain Logan Schuss put the Buckeyes ahead 10-9 at 4:12 before the Pioneers tied it with 2:52 remaining. Sophomore Turner Evans netted the gamewinner with 24 seconds left, scoring off an assist from classmate Jesse King.

Schuss was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after scoring seven goals and adding two assists for nine points in the tourney. He had two goals and an assist in the championship game. King had a career-high tying six points in the final, with two goals and four assists. Evans had a career-high tying four goals vs. the Pioneers. Senior Trey Wilkes won 12 faceoffs against Denver and picked up a team-best seven groundballs. Junior goalie Greg Dutton made nine saves vs. DU.

In the PollsIn the polls released Monday, Ohio State was ranked a program-record third in both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media and USILA Coaches polls. The team's previous high had been sixth in May 2004, while the squad had reached a high of eighth in each poll earlier this season. The Buckeyes began the year 19th in the USILA and 20th in the IL preseason polls.

Five opponents on Ohio State's schedule are also currently ranked in both polls (IL/USILA): Denver (5/6), Notre Dame (6/7), Loyola (9/9), Penn State (12/13t) and Towson (17/17). Virginia and Fairfield are receiving votes in both polls and Detroit received votes in the IL rankings. Ohio State's preseason slate included currently ranked teams in Johns Hopkins (15/13t) and Syracuse (2/2) in the spring and North Carolina (1/1) and Lehigh (10/10) in the fall.

For the Trophy Case • The No. 3 seed Buckeyes defeated No. 2 seed Loyola and No. 1 seed Denver in Geneva, N.Y., en route to the ECAC tournament title last week - the first postseason tournament title in program history. • With road wins at Penn State (11-10 OT) and Michigan (17-8), Ohio State won the 2013 Creator's Trophy, decided between the three Big Ten Conference schools that sponsor men's lacrosse. Penn State won the inaugural trophy in 2012. A school must defeat both Big Ten programs to win the crown.

Noting the Buckeyesvs. the 2013 NCAA field ... • The Buckeyes faced five NCAA tournament teams during the regular season - Penn State, Denver, Detroit, Loyola and Notre Dame - going 4-3 in those games. The squad also scrimmaged North Carolina and Lehigh in the fall and Syracuse in the spring. • Ohio State's three losses this season are all to NCAA tournament teams - Loyola, Denver and Notre Dame.

During their six-game winning streak ... • In its last six games, Ohio State is outscoring opponents, 13.33 to 8.67, scoring on 37 percent of its shots. The team has double-digit goals in all six games and has outscored opponents 46-25 in the second half. The man-up unit is 7-for-12 (.583). Logan Schuss is first with 19 goals, 13 assists and 32 points during the stretch. Turner Evans has 16 goals, Dominique Alexander has 12 assists and Jesse King has 11 goals and 11 assists to rank second with 22 points. • Two of the wins were at home, with two road victories and two neutral-site wins. • Ohio State's six-game winning streak is the team's longest since the 2004 squad won 11 in a row.

This season... • The Buckeyes are 4-1 in one-goal games this season, including wins over Air Force, Denver, Penn State and Virginia. • Ohio State scored eight fourth-quarter goals in its 18-11 win over Loyola last Thursday in the ECAC semifinals, one game after scoring seven fourth-quarter goals in a 14-8 win over Fairfield to close the regular season. The team is outscoring opponents 90-51 in the second half this year (and 91-51 in the second half and overtime combined). • Ohio State is 10-0 when scoring double-digit goals this season and has 10 or more in each of its last six games. The 18 goals vs. Loyola in the ECAC semifinals matched the team's season high, first set vs. Marquette Feb. 23. The squad is averaging 11.20 goals a game this season. • Ohio State is 8-1 away from Columbus this year, with the lone loss at Notre Dame, posting a 5-1 road ledger and three neutral-site wins, topping Jacksonville in the Moe's Classic and winning over Loyola and Denver in Geneva, N.Y., last week. In its road/neutral games, the squad has outscored opponents, 11.0-8.78, scoring on 34.5 percent of its shots. • The Buckeyes reached 10 wins in the regular season for just the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2004. The team's 12 wins overall are the most since the 2004 team was 12-4 and tied for the fourth-most in a single season, behind 1965 (15), 1966 (14) and 1978 (14). The 1988 team also had 12 victories. • The Buckeyes have scored on 32.7 percent of their shots this season (ranking eighth nationally), with 168 goals on 513 shots. The team's 18 goals vs. Loyola came on 37 shots (48.6 percent), while its 11 goals vs. Denver were scored on 27 attempts (40.7 percent). • Ohio State played a team ranked in the Top 10 at the time of the game seven times this season, hosting No. 7 Denver and No. 5 Loyola and playing at No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 Virginia and No. 3 Notre Dame before the neutral-site wins vs. No. 4 Loyola and No. 3 Denver last week. • Ohio State is 12th in the NCAA in team defense, allowing 8.53 goals a game. The squad has allowed double-digit goals just four times in the last 23 outings, winning two of those games (both in the ECAC tournament). The team last gave up 10+ goals in back-to-back games in 2011, losing at Albany, 11-9, March 12, 2011 before falling at Virginia, 14-11, March 19, 2011. • The Buckeyes are averaging 34.2 shots per game and allowing 32.3 shots a game. After a stretch with 28 or less shots in four-consecutive games March 16-30, the team has had 33 or more in five of its last six games. The Buckeyes had 37 shots in their win vs. Loyola before taking just 27 shots against Denver. • More than half of the Buckeyes' goals this season have been assisted, with 104 assists on 168 goals. The squad is 15th in the NCAA averaging 6.93 assists per outing. Eleven of the team's 18 goals vs. Loyola, and nine of 11 vs. Denver, were assisted last week. • Ohio State is second in the NCAA in man-up offense, converting 50 percent of its chances (21-for-42). The team was 5-for-6 vs. Marquette Feb. 23, 3-for-4 vs. Detroit Feb. 9 and 3-for-6 at Michigan April 13. Seven Buckeyes have man-up goals, led by Logan Schuss and Turner Evans with five each and Jesse King and Carter Brown with four. The team converted its one chance vs. Denver and was 0-for-1 vs. Loyola. • Ohio State is 10th in the NCAA in faceoff winning percentage, winning 196-of-348 (.563) draws on the year. The squad has won more faceoffs than its opponent in seven games this season and was even in three contests. The team was 17-of-31 (.548) in the ECAC tournament and won 16-of-29 (.552) second-half draws in the two games combined. • The Buckeyes are third in the NCAA in turnovers per game, averaging 12.20 an outing. The squad had a season-low five vs. Denver last Saturday, with seven vs. Denver March 9 and eight in its win over Marquette Feb. 23. • Sixteen Buckeyes have scored at least one goal this season, with 14 recording at least one assist. In all, 18 Buckeyes have at least one point on the year.

Tewaaraton Nominee Schuss in the Record Books • Senior Logan Schuss became the all-time leading goal scorer in Ohio State history at Michigan April 13 and moved into second place in career points with three points against Denver last Saturday. His career goals mark stands at 142 (the old record was 126) and he now has 228 points as a Buckeye. Schuss is just the third Buckeye to hit the 200-point mark, joining Terry Gilmore (250/1976-79) and Joel Dalgarno (227/2006-09). Schuss' 86 assists are fourth all-time for a Buckeye, with Cliff Murray third (97/1966-68), Dalgarno second (101) and Gilmore first (127). • Schuss is on a 60-game point streak (each game of his collegiate career), the second-longest active streak in the NCAA. Nationally, he is second in career points and third in career goals among current Division I players, ranking fifth in points per game (3.8) and eighth in goals per game (2.37). • Schuss has a career-high 60 points this season, tied for the 10th-best single-season total in program history, while his career-best 40 goals are tied for ninth for a Buckeye in a campaign. He has led Ohio State in goals, assists and points each of his four years wearing the Scarlet and Gray. He had a 31-21-56 line as a freshman when he was named an honorable mention All-American and the ECAC Rookie of the Year. The four-time First Team All-ECAC player posted 32 goals, 20 assists and 52 points in 2011, and had 39 goals, 18 assists and 57 points in 2012 en route to ECAC Offensive Player of the Year and third team All-American accolades. • This season, Schuss is first in the ECAC and eighth in the NCAA with 4.20 points a game. He has multiple goals in 11 of 15 games (with at least one goal in all but one game) and has multiple points in 14 of 15 outings. In league games only, Schuss was first in the conference with 4.57 points per game (1 point a game ahead of second place). • Schuss had seven goals vs. Detroit, with five-goal games vs. Michigan and Loyola (in the ECAC semifinals). He had 10-point days vs. Detroit and Michigan and six points vs. the Greyhounds last Thursday. He is the third Buckeye to have at least two games with double-digit points.

Buckeye This and That ... Individually • Senior Logan Schuss enters the NCAA tournament on a 60-game point streak (142g, 86a, 228p, the second-longest current streak in the nation), while sophomore Jesse King is on a 21-game point streak (34g, 27a, 61p). Schuss is on an eight-game goal-scoring streak (24 goals) and sophomore Turner Evans has 16 goals in his last six games combined. King is on a team-high eight-game assist streak (14 assists), while Schuss (13) and senior Dominique Alexander (12) both have assists in their last six games. Alexander (5g, 12a, 17p) and Evans (16g, 2a, 18p) are on six-game scoring streaks. Freshmen Carter Brown (5g, 1a, 6p) and Charlie Schnider (1g, 3a, 4p) and senior Dan Wertz (3g) all have a point in each of the last three games. • Senior Dominique Alexander had a career-high five assists vs. Loyola last Thursday, tying for the sixth-best single-game performance in Ohio State history. He added a goal for a career-best six-point day. Alexander is on a six-game point streak, with five goals, 12 assists and 17 points in the stretch. He also matched his career high with four groundballs in the win vs. the Greyhounds. Alexander now has eight goals, a career-high 15 assists and 23 points this year. • Sophomore Jesse King had 11 points, with six goals and five assists, in the ECAC tournament. He had a career-high four goals vs. Loyola, adding an assist for a five-point day, and then had a career-high tying six points, including a personal-best four assists, against Denver. This season, he has nine multiple-goal outings and is second on the team in goals (26), assists (21) and points (47), all career highs. He had a 16-9-25 line as a freshman. • Sophomore Turner Evans had two goals and an assist for three points - and made the top play of the day on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 - vs. Loyola and then matched his career high with four goals in the win over Denver. He has 16 goals in his last six games combined, with multiple goals in five of those outings. Evans missed the first two games this season because of injury and is averaging 2.38 points a game, with at least one point in all but one outing. He is second in the NCAA in shooting percentage (.595), with his 24 goals on 41 shots. Of his 41 total shots, 33 have been on cage. He has a career-high 24 goals and 31 points this season after eight goals and 13 points as a freshman. • Junior goalie Greg Dutton has eight or more saves in 11 of 13 starts and has 10+ in six of his last seven, with 12 vs. Loyola and nine vs. Denver last week. He is 14th in the NCAA with an 8.61 goals-against average and has a .541 save percentage. Dutton had a career-high 15 in back-to-back games at Air Force April 20 and vs. Fairfield April 27. Those outings topped the 14 he had vs. Loyola March 30 and April 9, 2011 at Hobart. • Senior Trey Wilkes has won 10 or more faceoffs in 10 of 15 games this year and has 151 wins in 266 draws. He is first in the ECAC and 15th in the NCAA with a .568 faceoff winning percentage. Wilkes leads the Buckeyes with a career-high 61 groundballs this season, including eight vs. Denver March 9 (one shy of the career-best nine he recorded vs. Mercer Feb. 12, 2011) and seven vs. Denver in the ECAC final. He won 12-of-23 draws vs. the Pioneers Saturday. • Freshman Carter Brown had four points in the ECAC tournament, scoring twice vs. Loyola and posting a goal and an assist vs. Denver. He is third on the team with 24 goals and 38 points and fourth with 14 assists. Brown has He has eight multiple-goal outings and multiple points in 11 games. Brown is 11th in the NCAA with a .444 shooting percentage, with his 24 goals coming on 54 shots. • Senior Dan Wertz has a goal in five of the last six games, including in each of the last three outings. He has a career-high tying seven goals this year and a personal-best eight points. • Junior Darius Bowling had five groundballs in the Buckeyes’ win vs. Denver Saturday and now has 38 groundballs this season, marking a career high. He has three or more groundballs in five games this season and is second with 12 caused turnovers. Bowling had the second assist of his career in the win vs. Denver. • Junior Michael Italiano has two or more groundballs in each of his last 12 games, including eight vs. Virginia March 16, five at Notre Dame March 20 and four vs. Hobart April 6 and vs. Fairfield April 27. He has a career-high 40 groundballs this year, passing the 17 he had as a freshman. He also has four goals on the year, including a tally vs. Loyola last Thursday. • Freshman Kacy Kapinos won 12-of-20 faceoffs Thursday vs. Loyola, picking up a career-high eight groundballs. He entered the game 13-of-23 on the year, with four groundballs. • Junior defenseman Joe Meurer, who has started all 15 games, has a team-best 15 caused turnovers this season. He has 29 groundballs, including three in three of his last four games. • Sophomore David Planning has multiple points in three of his last four games, including a goal and career-high two assists and three points vs. Loyola. He has seven two-point outings and has scored 15 goals, adding seven assists for 21 points, with a point in all but three games. As a freshman last year he had six goals, three assists and nine points. • Freshman Charlie Schnider had his first career multiple-point game Thursday vs. Loyola with a goal and an assist and added an assist vs. Denver. He now has two goals, four assists and six points on the year while playing in 14 games. • Junior Adam Trombley has a point in four of the last five games, including a goal (after causing a turnover on a clear) against Denver last Thursday. He has five goals, a career-high four assists and nine points this season while playing in all 15 games.

Thank You SeniorsThe nine members of the Class of 2013 (Dominique Alexander, Mark Crawford, Nick Liddil, Kevin Mack, Patrick Toohey, Patrick Riffee, Logan Schuss, Dan Wertz and Trey Wilkes) have left their mark on the Ohio State program in all areas – on the field, in the classroom and in the community. All nine seniors were named Ohio State Scholar-Athletes this year, while the group has compiled 33 scholar-athlete awards over the last four years, along with 17 Academic All-Big Ten accolades and 11 ECAC All-Academic honors. In the community, the nine have contributed nearly 540 hours of volunteer work, involved with everything from reading to elementary school students to volunteering with the World War II Honor Flight. The senior class was part of the first team that adopted JJ Snider into the Buckeye Lacrosse Family through the Friends of Jaclyn program, welcoming him as one of their own and spending time with him often. The seniors have been a part of 33 wins, leading the team to the ECAC tournament each year of its existence. The group has combined for two All-America nods, two league player of the year awards and four all-league accolades, along with 14 league player of the week honors.

At commencement ceremonies Sunday in Ohio Stadium, Liddil, Toohey, Wertz and Wilkes all earned their Ohio State degrees.